Forlorn Hope
by Moonlit Raven
Summary: Raven knows of her future. No matter how much she denies it...its always there. Still she tries to find a way to escape her destiny- this time trying alone. But Slade is after her, and soon she must rely on those she left to help her through


I don't own Raven, or the Teen Titans whatsoever. But the people that do are pure geniuses who have inspired me to make a story about that dear Raven we all know and love. Later on, this might have some Robin/Raven, though Im not completely sure yet. Ah, just enjoy it! Please R&R!

Within her Moonlit Room, Raven paced back and forth. Just another restless night, one out of several that had occurred throughout the weeks after what had happened on her Birthday. She couldnt even escape her father within dreamland, and each time her eyelids fell shut, the face of Slade, then Trigon would appear, leering down at her as she watched the city burn to ashes and the people whom she had sworn to protect- become stone statues as still as death. Ever since that fateful day, everything had changed for Raven. No longer would she enjoy herself with the rest of the Titans, No Longer would she give it her all when facing villains. Raven knew, deep down inside, that no pathetic villain could compare to what Raven was destined to do- to end humanity itself.

Raven hardly ever left her room anymore, too absorbed in reading her ancient arcane books in the hopes of finding a way to prevent the prophecy from occurring. But she had found nothing so far, save for the demonic symbol that was her Fathers written within one of the pages of a tattered, loose notebook seeming to be several thousands of years old. And even that didnt help much. The words written around the symbol was a language that Raven didnt know. But Raven continued on, rummaging through her large collection of books, desperate to find something, anything to prevent her from being a pawn in destroying the world.

Suddenly, a knock came from outside Raven's door.

"Raven? Are you okay? We havent seen you for days" It was Robin.

Raven looked up from the disarray of books around her bed, staring at the steel door for a moment before quietly answering back. "I'm fine. Go away Robin." Her eyes went back to staring at the books in front of her, but she wasnt concentrating as much as she had been. She wanted to hear the Boy Wonder's response.

Robin looked down at the floor before looking back up at the iron plate in front of Raven's door that read her name in large bold letters. "Listen Raven, I know what happened on your birthday affected you, but dont you think that this is a bit too much? We're here to help you Raven! Cyborg is looking through the main computer for any traces of Slades whereabouts, whilst Starfire and Beastboy are covering the whole perimeter of the City to see if they can find him. Were doing all that we can for you, but still you hide away like this. Dont you know that everyone here is your friend? Your with friends now, and we are all really worried about you. Please come out Raven." Robin sighed. He was never really good at giving long hopeful speeches- but it was his duty, as Leader, to comfort Raven in her hour of need. But she wouldnt let anyone get close to her, including Robin. _Whatis her deal?_ Robin thought to himself.

Again Raven looked up- with a frown on her face. She looked down at her hands, normal in every feature one minute, before being marked up the next, by the red inscriptions that held Ravens fate in a steady grip. She wished that the other Titans would just leave her alone. If only she hadnt met them in the first place, they wouldnt have been involved in those whole predicament of hers. But it was too late, and they were all in. Raven shook her head from side to side, trying to concentrate back on Robin's words. But she couldnt- It was her fault that they were all in this big mess, all hers! Raven's head was pounding from pain and stress, and the longer Raven stayed in her room and listened to what Robin spoke of, the more she felt- not just a pounding, but a reeling fear deep within the pit of her stomach. Was this Trigon's influence? Or was it her emotions simply taking over?

Jars, books, candles all around her began to be consumed by her dark power. Everything went flying all over the room. Chalices exploded, shards of glass flying every which way; candles melted though from no flame; scrolls and books were torn, page by page before being ripped to shreds by her dark force. Raven's eyes widened at the mess that was occurring within her room, before she felt a heated throbbing all over her body. Quickly, she grabbed the hand mirror lying on the table-stand at the side of her bed, before scrolling it over her.

Raven gasped. All over her, the red marks came again to life. They glowed scarlet red, like flames circling all over her arms, legs, and chest. Another look into the mirror and Raven saw the mark of Trigon breaking her red chakra in half, the jewel-piece on her forehead becoming as black as coal. She cried out again, the marks over her body acting like needles against her flesh.

Without a single word, Raven's normal amethyst eyes turned white, and she turned into her soul-self- the large black Raven made up only of darkness- now marked with burning red inscriptions as well. The Soul-Self muttered an inaudible cry, before flying through the wall of her room and out into the open. White eyes sparked like electricity as Raven flew over the water surrounding Titans Tower, heading for a secret Cave off the coast- the one that Terra had talked of what seemed like an eternity ago. What Irony, to be following a Traitor's Words. But There was no place else to go, and Raven knew that she would only endanger the lives of her only friends if she stayed. Every second she breathed, she could feel more of her Father's Power over her- and it showed as brightly as the marks on her dark shadowy wings. Raven had to handle this, and she had to handle it alone.

Robin heard the loud shriek come from Raven's room, and without thinking, Robin kicked open Raven's door- only to find everything a mess, with no sign of the violet-eyed girl anywhere. The Boy Wonder made his way to Raven's bed, picking up the torn and tattered remnants of what Raven had been looking at only a moment before: The page with the strange mark that Slade himself had had during their last encounter. Taking another look at the destroyed room, Robin shoved the page into his pocket before running out of the room, yelling loudly into his communicator "Raven is gone!" He ran past the moonlit hallways of the Tower, looking out the large windows. Far Far away, Robin thought that he could just make out the form of a large Raven, lined with throbbing red marks flying towards the east, away from the City and Titans Tower both. Quietly, Robin muttered into the communicator "Shes flying east...We've got to catch her." With less enthusiasm as usual, he could barely make out the infamous words to the rest of the team. "Titans...Go."

Meanwhile, deep down underneath the earth, Slade watched with a satisfied smirk as he watched the red and black Raven fly away from the Titans, the scene being portrayed within a pool of red lava. "Poor Poor Raven...still trying to escape the inevitable...How cute..." Slade seemingly spoke to the air then. "Master, your daughter has up and fled her friends. Is it time to cage the little bird?" A loud, raucous roar was heard, echoing throughout the Lava-filled Cavern that Slade was in, the likes of which sounded as if the dead had died again from a torturous fate. Slade narrowed his eyes at the answer, before grinning behind his mask. "I'll take that as a yes." Without another word, Slade clenched his fists, letting his own flame powers engulf his body. Within an instant, the flames were gone, along with the man whose name was Slade.

To be continued! Enjoy and please R&R! I'm new at this sort of thing but I enjoy it:)


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